The Marsyas of the Forum Motif on Coins From Roman Mesopotamia and Osrhoene

This paper sheds new light on the relatively understudied local bronze coinage from Roman Mesopotamia and Osrhoene. A series of small figures on third century AD coin types at Edessa, Carrhae, and Rhesaena have traditionally been identified as Marsyas of the Forum or the zodiac sign Aquarius, but a thorough discussion of the iconography of these types is lacking. A study of the pose and attributes of these figures and a comparison with depictions of both Marsyas of the Forum and Aquarius in Roman art demonstrates that only a single type from Edessa can feasibly be identified as Marsyas. The others depict Aquarius or a local deity. These findings are significant because the presence of Marsyas on civic coinage has close associations with the achievement of colonial status, or the possession of the ius Italicum, which carried tax exemptions and land privileges.